diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 0517ac2..36befc4 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+bin
 target
 .classpath
 .settings
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/Joblet.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/Joblet.java
index 586c1a6..cc55cd6 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/Joblet.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/Joblet.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc;
 
+import java.net.URLClassLoader;
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.Collections;
@@ -313,7 +314,8 @@
     @Override
     public Class<?> loadClass(String className) {
         try {
-            return DeploymentUtils.loadClass(className, deploymentId, appCtx);
+            Class<?> cl= DeploymentUtils.loadClass(className, deploymentId, appCtx);
+            return cl;
         } catch (Exception e) {
             throw new RuntimeException(e);
         }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTree.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTree.java
index 8cf4aa4..fef0f81 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTree.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTree.java
@@ -897,9 +897,9 @@
         }
 
         @Override
-        public ITreeIndexCursor createSearchCursor() {
+        public ITreeIndexCursor createSearchCursor(boolean exclusive) {
             IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame = (IBTreeLeafFrame) btree.getLeafFrameFactory().createFrame();
-            return new BTreeRangeSearchCursor(leafFrame, false);
+            return new BTreeRangeSearchCursor(leafFrame, exclusive);
         }
 
         @Override
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IIndexAccessor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IIndexAccessor.java
index 5eb3cdd..a9aaad8 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IIndexAccessor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IIndexAccessor.java
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@
      * Creates a cursor appropriate for passing into search().
      * 
      */
-    public IIndexCursor createSearchCursor();
+    public IIndexCursor createSearchCursor(boolean exclusive);
 
     /**
      * Open the given cursor for an index search using the given predicate as
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IndexSearchOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IndexSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
index 83fb5ee..2696af9 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IndexSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IndexSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@
     protected abstract void resetSearchPredicate(int tupleIndex);
 
     protected IIndexCursor createCursor() {
-        return indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        return indexAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/impls/LSMBTree.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/impls/LSMBTree.java
index 28f44e6..cb4d268 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/impls/LSMBTree.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/impls/LSMBTree.java
@@ -404,7 +404,7 @@
         IIndexBulkLoader builder = component.getBloomFilter().createBuilder(numElements,
                 bloomFilterSpec.getNumHashes(), bloomFilterSpec.getNumBucketsPerElements());
 
-        IIndexCursor scanCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor();
+        IIndexCursor scanCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor(false);
         accessor.search(scanCursor, nullPred);
         try {
             while (scanCursor.hasNext()) {
@@ -622,7 +622,7 @@
         }
 
         @Override
-        public IIndexCursor createSearchCursor() {
+        public IIndexCursor createSearchCursor(boolean exclusive) {
             return new LSMBTreeSearchCursor(ctx);
         }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndex.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndex.java
index 93c5a58..7b4ae42 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndex.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndex.java
@@ -458,7 +458,7 @@
                 .getInvIndex().createAccessor(NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE, NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE);
         BTreeAccessor memBTreeAccessor = memInvIndexAccessor.getBTreeAccessor();
         RangePredicate nullPred = new RangePredicate(null, null, true, true, null, null);
-        IIndexCursor scanCursor = memBTreeAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        IIndexCursor scanCursor = memBTreeAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
         memBTreeAccessor.search(scanCursor, nullPred);
 
         // Bulk load the disk inverted index from the in-memory inverted index.
@@ -498,7 +498,7 @@
             BTree diskDeletedKeysBTree = component.getDeletedKeysBTree();
 
             // Create a scan cursor on the deleted keys BTree underlying the in-memory inverted index.
-            IIndexCursor deletedKeysScanCursor = deletedKeysBTreeAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+            IIndexCursor deletedKeysScanCursor = deletedKeysBTreeAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
             deletedKeysBTreeAccessor.search(deletedKeysScanCursor, nullPred);
 
             // Bulk load the deleted-keys BTree.
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndexAccessor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndexAccessor.java
index 7e34dfe..f76085a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndexAccessor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndexAccessor.java
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@
         lsmHarness.search(ctx, cursor, searchPred);
     }
 
-    public IIndexCursor createSearchCursor() {
+    public IIndexCursor createSearchCursor(boolean exclusive) {
         return new LSMInvertedIndexSearchCursor();
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndexDeletedKeysBTreeMergeCursor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndexDeletedKeysBTreeMergeCursor.java
index 3efaaba..9eb317d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndexDeletedKeysBTreeMergeCursor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndexDeletedKeysBTreeMergeCursor.java
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@
         RangePredicate btreePredicate = new RangePredicate(null, null, true, true, keyCmp, keyCmp);
         ArrayList<IIndexAccessor> btreeAccessors = lsmInitialState.getDeletedKeysBTreeAccessors();
         for (int i = 0; i < numBTrees; i++) {
-            rangeCursors[i] = btreeAccessors.get(i).createSearchCursor();
+            rangeCursors[i] = btreeAccessors.get(i).createSearchCursor(false);
             btreeAccessors.get(i).search(rangeCursors[i], btreePredicate);
         }
         setPriorityQueueComparator();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndexRangeSearchCursor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndexRangeSearchCursor.java
index a6ff07e..48e94eb 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndexRangeSearchCursor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndexRangeSearchCursor.java
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@
                 ILSMComponent component = operationalComponents.get(i);
                 if (component.getType() == LSMComponentType.MEMORY) {
                     // No need for a bloom filter for the in-memory BTree.
-                    deletedKeysBTreeCursors[i] = deletedKeysBTreeAccessors.get(i).createSearchCursor();
+                    deletedKeysBTreeCursors[i] = deletedKeysBTreeAccessors.get(i).createSearchCursor(false);
                 } else {
                     deletedKeysBTreeCursors[i] = new BloomFilterAwareBTreePointSearchCursor(
                             (IBTreeLeafFrame) lsmInitState.getgetDeletedKeysBTreeLeafFrameFactory().createFrame(),
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndexSearchCursor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndexSearchCursor.java
index 19acbfb..8ceedaf 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndexSearchCursor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/impls/LSMInvertedIndexSearchCursor.java
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@
             ILSMComponent component = operationalComponents.get(i);
             if (component.getType() == LSMComponentType.MEMORY) {
                 // No need for a bloom filter for the in-memory BTree.
-                deletedKeysBTreeCursors[i] = deletedKeysBTreeAccessors.get(i).createSearchCursor();
+                deletedKeysBTreeCursors[i] = deletedKeysBTreeAccessors.get(i).createSearchCursor(false);
             } else {
                 deletedKeysBTreeCursors[i] = new BloomFilterAwareBTreePointSearchCursor((IBTreeLeafFrame) lsmInitState
                         .getgetDeletedKeysBTreeLeafFrameFactory().createFrame(), false,
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@
         while (accessorIndex < indexAccessors.size()) {
             // Current cursor has been exhausted, switch to next accessor/cursor.
             currentAccessor = indexAccessors.get(accessorIndex);
-            currentCursor = currentAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+            currentCursor = currentAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
             try {
                 currentAccessor.search(currentCursor, searchPred);
             } catch (OccurrenceThresholdPanicException e) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/inmemory/InMemoryInvertedIndexAccessor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/inmemory/InMemoryInvertedIndexAccessor.java
index 7e9b483..ef8af32 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/inmemory/InMemoryInvertedIndexAccessor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/inmemory/InMemoryInvertedIndexAccessor.java
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IIndexCursor createSearchCursor() {
+    public IIndexCursor createSearchCursor(boolean exclusive) {
         return new OnDiskInvertedIndexSearchCursor(searcher, index.getInvListTypeTraits().length);
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/inmemory/InMemoryInvertedListCursor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/inmemory/InMemoryInvertedListCursor.java
index c742d0c..84e0fad 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/inmemory/InMemoryInvertedListCursor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/inmemory/InMemoryInvertedListCursor.java
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@
         // Avoid object creation if this.btreeAccessor == btreeAccessor.
         if (this.btreeAccessor != btreeAccessor) {
             this.btreeAccessor = btreeAccessor;
-            this.btreeCursor = btreeAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+            this.btreeCursor = btreeAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
             this.countingCursor = btreeAccessor.createCountingSearchCursor();
             this.btreePred = btreePred;
             this.btreePred.setLowKeyComparator(tokenFieldsCmp);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/ondisk/OnDiskInvertedIndex.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/ondisk/OnDiskInvertedIndex.java
index 52dc815..d72e019 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/ondisk/OnDiskInvertedIndex.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/ondisk/OnDiskInvertedIndex.java
@@ -484,7 +484,7 @@
         }
 
         @Override
-        public IIndexCursor createSearchCursor() {
+        public IIndexCursor createSearchCursor(boolean exclusive) {
             return new OnDiskInvertedIndexSearchCursor(searcher, index.getInvListTypeTraits().length);
         }
 
@@ -590,7 +590,7 @@
         // Scan the btree and validate the order of elements in each inverted-list.
         IIndexAccessor btreeAccessor = btree.createAccessor(NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE,
                 NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE);
-        IIndexCursor btreeCursor = btreeAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        IIndexCursor btreeCursor = btreeAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
         MultiComparator btreeCmp = MultiComparator.createIgnoreFieldLength(btree.getComparatorFactories());
         RangePredicate rangePred = new RangePredicate(null, null, true, true, btreeCmp, btreeCmp);
         int[] fieldPermutation = new int[tokenTypeTraits.length];
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/ondisk/OnDiskInvertedIndexOpContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/ondisk/OnDiskInvertedIndexOpContext.java
index 5c47601..509409f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/ondisk/OnDiskInvertedIndexOpContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/ondisk/OnDiskInvertedIndexOpContext.java
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     public OnDiskInvertedIndexOpContext(BTree btree) {
         // TODO: Ignore opcallbacks for now.
         btreeAccessor = btree.createAccessor(NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE, NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE);
-        btreeCursor = btreeAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        btreeCursor = btreeAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
         searchCmp = MultiComparator.createIgnoreFieldLength(btree.getComparatorFactories());
         if (btree.getComparatorFactories().length > 1) {
             prefixSearchCmp = MultiComparator.create(btree.getComparatorFactories(), 0, 1);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/ondisk/OnDiskInvertedIndexRangeSearchCursor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/ondisk/OnDiskInvertedIndexRangeSearchCursor.java
index defe29c..9cb7231 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/ondisk/OnDiskInvertedIndexRangeSearchCursor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/ondisk/OnDiskInvertedIndexRangeSearchCursor.java
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@
             fieldPermutation[i] = i;
         }
         tokenTuple = new PermutingTupleReference(fieldPermutation);
-        btreeCursor = btreeAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        btreeCursor = btreeAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
         concatTuple = new ConcatenatingTupleReference(2);
         invListCursor = invIndex.createInvertedListCursor();
         unpinNeeded = false;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTree.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTree.java
index 3d2cc62..95d1a11 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTree.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTree.java
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@
         // scan the memory RTree
         ITreeIndexAccessor memRTreeAccessor = flushingComponent.getRTree().createAccessor(
                 NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE, NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE);
-        RTreeSearchCursor rtreeScanCursor = (RTreeSearchCursor) memRTreeAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        RTreeSearchCursor rtreeScanCursor = (RTreeSearchCursor) memRTreeAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
         SearchPredicate rtreeNullPredicate = new SearchPredicate(null, null);
         memRTreeAccessor.search(rtreeScanCursor, rtreeNullPredicate);
         LSMRTreeDiskComponent component = createDiskComponent(componentFactory, flushOp.getRTreeFlushTarget(),
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@
             BloomFilterSpecification bloomFilterSpec = BloomCalculations.computeBloomSpec(maxBucketsPerElement,
                     bloomFilterFalsePositiveRate);
 
-            IIndexCursor btreeScanCursor = memBTreeAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+            IIndexCursor btreeScanCursor = memBTreeAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
             memBTreeAccessor.search(btreeScanCursor, btreeNullPredicate);
             BTree diskBTree = component.getBTree();
 
@@ -360,7 +360,7 @@
         }
 
         @Override
-        public ITreeIndexCursor createSearchCursor() {
+        public ITreeIndexCursor createSearchCursor(boolean exclusive) {
             return new LSMRTreeSearchCursor(ctx);
         }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTreeWithAntiMatterTuples.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTreeWithAntiMatterTuples.java
index bfd0260..71d83f2 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTreeWithAntiMatterTuples.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTreeWithAntiMatterTuples.java
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@
         LSMRTreeMemoryComponent flushingComponent = (LSMRTreeMemoryComponent) flushOp.getFlushingComponent();
         ITreeIndexAccessor memRTreeAccessor = flushingComponent.getRTree().createAccessor(
                 NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE, NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE);
-        RTreeSearchCursor rtreeScanCursor = (RTreeSearchCursor) memRTreeAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        RTreeSearchCursor rtreeScanCursor = (RTreeSearchCursor) memRTreeAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
         SearchPredicate rtreeNullPredicate = new SearchPredicate(null, null);
         memRTreeAccessor.search(rtreeScanCursor, rtreeNullPredicate);
         LSMRTreeDiskComponent component = createDiskComponent(componentFactory, flushOp.getRTreeFlushTarget(), null,
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@
         // scan the memory BTree
         ITreeIndexAccessor memBTreeAccessor = flushingComponent.getBTree().createAccessor(
                 NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE, NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE);
-        BTreeRangeSearchCursor btreeScanCursor = (BTreeRangeSearchCursor) memBTreeAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        BTreeRangeSearchCursor btreeScanCursor = (BTreeRangeSearchCursor) memBTreeAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
         RangePredicate btreeNullPredicate = new RangePredicate(null, null, true, true, null, null);
         memBTreeAccessor.search(btreeScanCursor, btreeNullPredicate);
 
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@
         }
 
         @Override
-        public ITreeIndexCursor createSearchCursor() {
+        public ITreeIndexCursor createSearchCursor(boolean exclusive) {
             return new LSMRTreeWithAntiMatterTuplesSearchCursor(ctx);
         }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTree.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTree.java
index e744a81..266686f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTree.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTree.java
@@ -825,7 +825,7 @@
         }
 
         @Override
-        public ITreeIndexCursor createSearchCursor() {
+        public ITreeIndexCursor createSearchCursor(boolean exclusive) {
             return new RTreeSearchCursor((IRTreeInteriorFrame) interiorFrameFactory.createFrame(),
                     (IRTreeLeafFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame());
         }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/ICachedPageInternal.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/ICachedPageInternal.java
index b2ba638..22c02d1 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/ICachedPageInternal.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/ICachedPageInternal.java
@@ -20,6 +20,4 @@
     public Object getReplacementStrategyObject();
 
     public boolean pinIfGoodVictim();
-
-    public void markDirty();
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/AbstractSearchOperationCallbackTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/AbstractSearchOperationCallbackTest.java
index 02ce7f1..4c158ce 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/AbstractSearchOperationCallbackTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/AbstractSearchOperationCallbackTest.java
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@
         public SearchTask() throws HyracksDataException {
             this.cb = new SynchronizingSearchOperationCallback();
             this.accessor = index.createAccessor(NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE, cb);
-            this.cursor = accessor.createSearchCursor();
+            this.cursor = accessor.createSearchCursor(false);
             this.predicate = new RangePredicate();
             this.builder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(NUM_KEY_FIELDS);
             this.tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexExamplesTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexExamplesTest.java
index 0a70185..f814829 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexExamplesTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexExamplesTest.java
@@ -735,7 +735,7 @@
         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
             LOGGER.info("Ordered Scan:");
         }
-        IIndexCursor scanCursor = (IIndexCursor) indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        IIndexCursor scanCursor = (IIndexCursor) indexAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
         RangePredicate nullPred = new RangePredicate(null, null, true, true, null, null);
         indexAccessor.search(scanCursor, nullPred);
         try {
@@ -795,7 +795,7 @@
             String highKeyString = TupleUtils.printTuple(highKey, fieldSerdes);
             LOGGER.info("Range-Search in: [ " + lowKeyString + ", " + highKeyString + "]");
         }
-        ITreeIndexCursor rangeCursor = (ITreeIndexCursor) indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        ITreeIndexCursor rangeCursor = (ITreeIndexCursor) indexAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
         MultiComparator lowKeySearchCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(cmpFactories, lowKey);
         MultiComparator highKeySearchCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(cmpFactories, highKey);
         RangePredicate rangePred = new RangePredicate(lowKey, highKey, true, true, lowKeySearchCmp, highKeySearchCmp);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexTestUtils.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexTestUtils.java
index bb614d4..a2a4ba8 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexTestUtils.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexTestUtils.java
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@
         }
         MultiComparator lowKeyCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(ctx.getComparatorFactories(), lowKey);
         MultiComparator highKeyCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(ctx.getComparatorFactories(), highKey);
-        IIndexCursor searchCursor = ctx.getIndexAccessor().createSearchCursor();
+        IIndexCursor searchCursor = ctx.getIndexAccessor().createSearchCursor(false);
         RangePredicate rangePred = new RangePredicate(lowKey, highKey, lowKeyInclusive, highKeyInclusive, lowKeyCmp,
                 highKeyCmp);
         ctx.getIndexAccessor().search(searchCursor, rangePred);
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@
             LOGGER.info("Testing Point Searches On All Expected Keys.");
         }
         OrderedIndexTestContext ctx = (OrderedIndexTestContext) ictx;
-        IIndexCursor searchCursor = ctx.getIndexAccessor().createSearchCursor();
+        IIndexCursor searchCursor = ctx.getIndexAccessor().createSearchCursor(false);
 
         ArrayTupleBuilder lowKeyBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(ctx.getKeyFieldCount());
         ArrayTupleReference lowKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TreeIndexTestUtils.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TreeIndexTestUtils.java
index b5742b5..2919805 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TreeIndexTestUtils.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TreeIndexTestUtils.java
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@
         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
             LOGGER.info("Testing Scan.");
         }
-        ITreeIndexCursor scanCursor = (ITreeIndexCursor) ctx.getIndexAccessor().createSearchCursor();
+        ITreeIndexCursor scanCursor = (ITreeIndexCursor) ctx.getIndexAccessor().createSearchCursor(false);
         ISearchPredicate nullPred = createNullSearchPredicate();
         ctx.getIndexAccessor().search(scanCursor, nullPred);
         Iterator<CheckTuple> checkIter = ctx.getCheckTuples().iterator();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeExamplesTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeExamplesTest.java
index 705a976..6a519d0 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeExamplesTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeExamplesTest.java
@@ -727,7 +727,7 @@
         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
             LOGGER.info("Scan:");
         }
-        ITreeIndexCursor scanCursor = (ITreeIndexCursor) indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        ITreeIndexCursor scanCursor = (ITreeIndexCursor) indexAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
         SearchPredicate nullPred = new SearchPredicate(null, null);
         indexAccessor.search(scanCursor, nullPred);
         try {
@@ -786,7 +786,7 @@
             String kString = TupleUtils.printTuple(key, fieldSerdes);
             LOGGER.info("Range-Search using key: " + kString);
         }
-        ITreeIndexCursor rangeCursor = (ITreeIndexCursor) indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        ITreeIndexCursor rangeCursor = (ITreeIndexCursor) indexAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
         MultiComparator cmp = RTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(cmpFactories, key);
         SearchPredicate rangePred = new SearchPredicate(key, cmp);
         indexAccessor.search(rangeCursor, rangePred);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeTestUtils.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeTestUtils.java
index f93a007..af7cf14 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeTestUtils.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeTestUtils.java
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@
         AbstractRTreeTestContext ctx = (AbstractRTreeTestContext) ictx;
         MultiComparator cmp = RTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(ctx.getComparatorFactories(), key);
 
-        ITreeIndexCursor searchCursor = (ITreeIndexCursor) ctx.getIndexAccessor().createSearchCursor();
+        ITreeIndexCursor searchCursor = (ITreeIndexCursor) ctx.getIndexAccessor().createSearchCursor(false);
         SearchPredicate searchPred = new SearchPredicate(key, cmp);
         ctx.getIndexAccessor().search(searchCursor, searchPred);
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/multithread/BTreeTestWorker.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/multithread/BTreeTestWorker.java
index 22d3e6a..2d7a318 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/multithread/BTreeTestWorker.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/multithread/BTreeTestWorker.java
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@
     @Override
     public void performOp(ITupleReference tuple, TestOperation op) throws HyracksDataException, IndexException {
         BTree.BTreeAccessor accessor = (BTree.BTreeAccessor) indexAccessor;
-        ITreeIndexCursor searchCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor();
+        ITreeIndexCursor searchCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor(false);
         ITreeIndexCursor diskOrderScanCursor = accessor.createDiskOrderScanCursor();
         MultiComparator cmp = accessor.getOpContext().cmp;
         RangePredicate rangePred = new RangePredicate(tuple, tuple, true, true, cmp, cmp);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/LSMBTreeSearchOperationCallbackTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/LSMBTreeSearchOperationCallbackTest.java
index f1a5355..afaf30b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/LSMBTreeSearchOperationCallbackTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/LSMBTreeSearchOperationCallbackTest.java
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
         public SearchTask() throws HyracksDataException {
             this.cb = new SynchronizingSearchOperationCallback();
             this.accessor = index.createAccessor(NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE, cb);
-            this.cursor = accessor.createSearchCursor();
+            this.cursor = accessor.createSearchCursor(false);
             this.predicate = new RangePredicate();
             this.builder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(NUM_KEY_FIELDS);
             this.tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/multithread/LSMBTreeTestWorker.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/multithread/LSMBTreeTestWorker.java
index 35ecc20..8ab5d22 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/multithread/LSMBTreeTestWorker.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/multithread/LSMBTreeTestWorker.java
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@
     @Override
     public void performOp(ITupleReference tuple, TestOperation op) throws HyracksDataException, IndexException {
         LSMBTreeAccessor accessor = (LSMBTreeAccessor) indexAccessor;
-        IIndexCursor searchCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor();
+        IIndexCursor searchCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor(false);
         MultiComparator cmp = accessor.getMultiComparator();
         RangePredicate rangePred = new RangePredicate(tuple, tuple, true, true, cmp, cmp);
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/multithread/LSMInvertedIndexTestWorker.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/multithread/LSMInvertedIndexTestWorker.java
index 35afd09..34b3ff7 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/multithread/LSMInvertedIndexTestWorker.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/multithread/LSMInvertedIndexTestWorker.java
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@
     @Override
     public void performOp(ITupleReference tuple, TestOperation op) throws HyracksDataException, IndexException {
         LSMInvertedIndexAccessor accessor = (LSMInvertedIndexAccessor) indexAccessor;
-        IIndexCursor searchCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor();
+        IIndexCursor searchCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor(false);
         IIndexCursor rangeSearchCursor = accessor.createRangeSearchCursor();
         RangePredicate rangePred = new RangePredicate(null, null, true, true, null, null);
         IBinaryTokenizerFactory tokenizerFactory = invIndex.getTokenizerFactory();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/util/LSMInvertedIndexTestUtils.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/util/LSMInvertedIndexTestUtils.java
index c4e1ac5..58e0ace 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/util/LSMInvertedIndexTestUtils.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/invertedindex/util/LSMInvertedIndexTestUtils.java
@@ -510,7 +510,7 @@
             searchPred.setQueryTuple(searchDocument);
             searchPred.setQueryFieldIndex(0);
 
-            IIndexCursor resultCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor();
+            IIndexCursor resultCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor(false);
             boolean panic = false;
             try {
                 accessor.search(resultCursor, searchPred);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/multithread/LSMRTreeTestWorker.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/multithread/LSMRTreeTestWorker.java
index c7a86d9..b52b518 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/multithread/LSMRTreeTestWorker.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/multithread/LSMRTreeTestWorker.java
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@
     @Override
     public void performOp(ITupleReference tuple, TestOperation op) throws HyracksDataException, IndexException {
         LSMRTreeAccessor accessor = (LSMRTreeAccessor) indexAccessor;
-        ITreeIndexCursor searchCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor();
+        ITreeIndexCursor searchCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor(false);
         MultiComparator cmp = accessor.getMultiComparator();
         SearchPredicate rangePred = new SearchPredicate(tuple, cmp);
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/multithread/LSMRTreeWithAntiMatterTuplesTestWorker.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/multithread/LSMRTreeWithAntiMatterTuplesTestWorker.java
index 383cbc4..eef80d6 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/multithread/LSMRTreeWithAntiMatterTuplesTestWorker.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/multithread/LSMRTreeWithAntiMatterTuplesTestWorker.java
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
     @Override
     public void performOp(ITupleReference tuple, TestOperation op) throws HyracksDataException, IndexException {
         LSMRTreeWithAntiMatterTuplesAccessor accessor = (LSMRTreeWithAntiMatterTuplesAccessor) indexAccessor;
-        ITreeIndexCursor searchCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor();
+        ITreeIndexCursor searchCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor(false);
         MultiComparator cmp = accessor.getMultiComparator();
         SearchPredicate rangePred = new SearchPredicate(tuple, cmp);
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/multithread/RTreeTestWorker.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/multithread/RTreeTestWorker.java
index bc5d331..04cf044 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/multithread/RTreeTestWorker.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/multithread/RTreeTestWorker.java
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@
     @Override
     public void performOp(ITupleReference tuple, TestOperation op) throws HyracksDataException, IndexException {
         RTree.RTreeAccessor accessor = (RTree.RTreeAccessor) indexAccessor;
-        IIndexCursor searchCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor();
+        IIndexCursor searchCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor(false);
         ITreeIndexCursor diskOrderScanCursor = accessor.createDiskOrderScanCursor();
         MultiComparator cmp = accessor.getOpContext().cmp;
         SearchPredicate rangePred = new SearchPredicate(tuple, cmp);
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/api/graph/Vertex.java b/pregelix/pregelix-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/api/graph/Vertex.java
index 28d424a..a42b411 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/api/graph/Vertex.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/api/graph/Vertex.java
@@ -259,10 +259,6 @@
     final public void readFields(DataInput in) throws IOException {
         reset();
         if (vertexId == null) {
-            if (getContext().getConfiguration().getClassLoader() != this.getClass().getClassLoader()) {
-                throw new IllegalStateException("mismatched classloader: "
-                        + getContext().getConfiguration().getClassLoader() + " and " + this.getClass().getClassLoader());
-            }
             vertexId = BspUtils.<I> createVertexIndex(getContext().getConfiguration());
         }
         vertexId.readFields(in);
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorNodePushable.java b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorNodePushable.java
index b646661..c9bda52 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@
     }
 
     protected void setCursor() {
-        cursor = indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        cursor = indexAccessor.createSearchCursor(true);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopJoinOperatorNodePushable.java b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopJoinOperatorNodePushable.java
index 2ddca90..b5b21b6 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopJoinOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopJoinOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@
     }
 
     protected void setCursor() {
-        cursor = indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        cursor = indexAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopRightOuterJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorNodePushable.java b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopRightOuterJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorNodePushable.java
index 2557a07..d77107e 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopRightOuterJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopRightOuterJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@
     }
 
     protected void setCursor() {
-        cursor = indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        cursor = indexAccessor.createSearchCursor(true);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopRightOuterJoinOperatorNodePushable.java b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopRightOuterJoinOperatorNodePushable.java
index e64e9cc..6539828 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopRightOuterJoinOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopRightOuterJoinOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@
     }
 
     protected void setCursor() {
-        cursor = indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        cursor = indexAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopSetUnionFunctionUpdateOperatorNodePushable.java b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopSetUnionFunctionUpdateOperatorNodePushable.java
index 1d9fd70..6549782 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopSetUnionFunctionUpdateOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopSetUnionFunctionUpdateOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@
     }
 
     protected void setCursor() {
-        cursor = indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        cursor = indexAccessor.createSearchCursor(true);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopSetUnionOperatorNodePushable.java b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopSetUnionOperatorNodePushable.java
index 86a211f..1c9fce6 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopSetUnionOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopSetUnionOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@
     }
 
     protected void setCursor() {
-        cursor = indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        cursor = indexAccessor.createSearchCursor(false);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorNodePushable.java b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorNodePushable.java
index 1003431..0561f8b 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@
     }
 
     protected void setCursor() {
-        cursor = indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        cursor = indexAccessor.createSearchCursor(true);
     }
 
     protected void writeSearchResults() throws Exception {
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/runtime/function/ComputeUpdateFunctionFactory.java b/pregelix/pregelix-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/runtime/function/ComputeUpdateFunctionFactory.java
index a39df3c..a002be0 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/runtime/function/ComputeUpdateFunctionFactory.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/runtime/function/ComputeUpdateFunctionFactory.java
@@ -31,9 +31,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTreeRangeSearchCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.ICachedPageInternal;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.graph.GlobalAggregator;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.graph.MsgList;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.graph.Vertex;
@@ -280,11 +279,8 @@
                             int offset = tupleRef.getFieldStart(1);
                             bbos.setByteArray(data, offset);
                             vertex.write(output);
-
-                            BTreeRangeSearchCursor btreeCursor = (BTreeRangeSearchCursor) cursor;
-                            ICachedPageInternal page = (ICachedPageInternal) btreeCursor.getPage();
-                            //IMPORTANT: mark the page to be dirty
-                            page.markDirty();
+                            ITreeIndexCursor tCursor = (ITreeIndexCursor) cursor;
+                            tCursor.markCurrentTupleAsUpdated();
                         } else {
                             // write the vertex id
                             DataOutput tbOutput = cloneUpdateTb.getDataOutput();
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/runtime/function/StartComputeUpdateFunctionFactory.java b/pregelix/pregelix-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/runtime/function/StartComputeUpdateFunctionFactory.java
index 05b4e87..1d26c83 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/runtime/function/StartComputeUpdateFunctionFactory.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/runtime/function/StartComputeUpdateFunctionFactory.java
@@ -31,9 +31,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTreeRangeSearchCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.ICachedPageInternal;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.graph.GlobalAggregator;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.graph.MsgList;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.graph.Vertex;
@@ -269,11 +268,8 @@
                             int offset = tupleRef.getFieldStart(1);
                             bbos.setByteArray(data, offset);
                             vertex.write(output);
-
-                            BTreeRangeSearchCursor btreeCursor = (BTreeRangeSearchCursor) cursor;
-                            ICachedPageInternal page = (ICachedPageInternal) btreeCursor.getPage();
-                            //IMPORTANT: mark the page to be dirty
-                            page.markDirty();
+                            ITreeIndexCursor tCursor = (ITreeIndexCursor) cursor;
+                            tCursor.markCurrentTupleAsUpdated();
                         } else {
                             // write the vertex id
                             DataOutput tbOutput = cloneUpdateTb.getDataOutput();